Sunday morning June 19

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lipsand our mouth will proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,to you be glory and praise forever.You founded the earth in the beginningand the heavens are the work of your hands.In the fullness of time you made us in your image,and in these last days you have spoken to usin your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among uslet the light of your love always shine in our hearts,your Spirit ever renew our livesand your praises ever be on our lips.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Spirit of Grace and Health and Power

John Wesley

Spirit of grace, and health and power,Fountain of light and love below,Abroad thy healing influence shower,On all thy servants let it flow;

Inflame our hearts with perfect love,In us the work of faith fulfill;So not heaven’s host shall swifter moveThan we on earth to do thy will.

Father, ’tis thine each day to yieldThy children’s wants a fresh supply,Thou clothest the lilies of the field,And hearest the young ravens cry.

On thee we cast our care; we liveThrough thee, who knowest our every need;O feed us with thy grace, and giveOur souls this day the living bread!

Confession of sin

Seek the Lord when he can still be found;call him while he is yet near.Let the wicked abandon their waysand the sinful their schemes.Let them return to the Lord so that he may have mercy on them,to our God, because he is generous with forgiveness.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God,we have sinned against you;we have committed evil in your sight.We are sorry and repent.Have mercy on us according to your faithful love.Wash us completely clean of our guilt; purify us from our sin.Put a new, faithful spirit deep inside us,and return the joy of your salvation to usthrough Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all merciescleanse us from our sins,and restore us in his imageto the praise and glory of his name,through Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

Bless the Lord,because he has listened to our request for mercy.Therefore our hearts will rejoiceand we will thank him with our song.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

The Word of God

Psalm 55:1-16, 18-29

Refrain:I call out to God, and the Lord will rescue me.

God, listen to my prayer; don’t avoid my request!Pay attention! Answer me! I can’t sit still while complaining. I’m beside myself over the enemy’s noise, at the wicked person’s racket, because they bring disaster on me and harass me furiously.

My heart pounds in my chest because death’s terrors have reached me.Fear and trembling have come upon me; I’m shaking all over.I say to myself, I wish I had wings like a dove! I’d fly away and rest. I’d run so far away! I’d live in the desert. I’d hurry to my hideout, far from the rushing wind and storm.

Baffle them, my Lord! Confuse their language because I see violence and conflict in the city.Day and night they make their rounds on its walls, and evil and misery live inside it.Disaster lives inside it; oppression and fraud never leave the town square.

It’s not an enemy that is insulting me— I could handle that.It’s not someone who hates me who is exalted over me— I could hide from them.No. It’s you, my equal, my close companion, my good friend!It was so pleasant when together we entered God’s house with the crowd.

Let death devastate my enemies; let them go to the grave alive because evil lives with them— even inside them!But I call out to God, and the Lord will rescue me.

He saves me, unharmed, from my struggle, though there are many who are out to get me.God, who is enthroned from ancient days, will hear and humble them because they don’t change and they don’t worship God.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:I call out to God, and the Lord will rescue me.

Psalm prayer

Lord, in all times of fear and dread,grant that we may so cast our burdens upon you,that you may bear us on the holy wings of the Spiritto the stronghold of your peace;through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament readingDeuteronomy 11:1-15

So love the Lord your God and follow his instruction, his regulations, his case laws, and his commandments always. And know right now what your children haven’t known or yet witnessed:

The Lord your God’s discipline, his power, his mighty hand and outstretched arm;the signs and the acts that he performed in the heart of Egyptian territory, against Egypt’s King Pharaoh and all his land;what God did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots—how he made the water of the Reed Sea flow over their heads when they chased after you, but the Lord destroyed them, and that’s how things stand right now;what the Lord did for you in the desert, until you arrived at this place;and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the descendants of Eliab the Reubenite, when the ground opened up its mouth and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and every living thing they possessed in the presence of all Israel.Your own eyes witnessed each of these powerful acts the Lord performed. So keep every part of the commandment that I am giving you today so that you stay strong to enter and take possession of the land that you are crossing over to possess, and so that you might prolong your life on the fertile land that the Lord swore to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants—a land full of milk and honey.

The land you are about to enter and possess is definitely not like the land of Egypt, where you came from, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it by hand like a vegetable garden. No, the land you are entering to possess is a land of hills and valleys, where your drinking water will be rain from heaven. It’s a land that the Lord cares for: the Lord’s eyes are on it constantly from the first of the year until the very end of the year.

Now, if you completely obey God’s commandments that I am giving you right now, by loving the Lord your God and by serving him with all your heart and all your being, then he will provide rain for your land at the right time—early rain and late rain—so you can stock up your grain, wine, and oil. He will also make your fields lush for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingActs 27:1-12

When it was determined that we were to sail to Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were placed in the custody of a centurion named Julius of the Imperial Company. We boarded a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail for ports along the coast of the province of Asia. So we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, came with us. The next day we landed in Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly and permitted him to go to some friends so they could take care of him. From there we sailed off. We passed Cyprus, using the island to shelter us from the headwinds. We sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, and landed in Myra in Lycia. There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship headed for Italy and put us on board. After many days of slow and difficult sailing, we arrived off the coast of Cnidus. The wind wouldn’t allow us to go farther, so we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. We sailed along the coast only with difficulty until we came to a place called Good Harbors, near the city of Lasea.

Much time had been lost, and the voyage was now dangerous since the Day of Reconciliation had already passed. Paul warned them, “Men, I see that our voyage will suffer damage and great loss, not only for the cargo and ship but also for our lives.” But the centurion was persuaded more by the ship’s pilot and captain than by Paul’s advice. Since the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter, the majority supported a plan to put out to sea from there. They thought they might reach Phoenix in Crete and spend the winter in its harbor, which faced southwest and northwest.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:You have raised up a mighty savior for us in your servant David’s house.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Father, hear our prayer,through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:increase and multiply upon us your mercy;that with you as our ruler and guidewe may so pass through things temporalthat we lose not our hold on things eternal;grant this, heavenly Father,for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.Amen.